The Utah Jazz may have fallen off their torrid pace to begin the year, but it has not put a stop on the rolling train that is Lauri Markkanen's breakout 2022-23 campaign. In fact, not even back and hand injuries could stop Markkanen from scorching the nets after he poured in yet another incredible performance on Wednesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers.
In 33 minutes of action, Markkanen put up his third-best scoring performance of the season, dropping 40 points and 12 rebounds despite the Jazz's 127-115 defeat to Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers. With this Jazz loss and the Los Angeles Lakers' win over the Phoenix Suns, Utah has fallen out of the play-in tournament picture at the moment.
Nevertheless, Lauri Markkanen's health remains the Jazz's number one concern. But it looks like the hand injury the 2023 All-Star forward and Most Improved Player award frontrunner is playing through isn't too serious, based off what he said in his postgame presser.
“I can tell you the X-ray was good. It was clean. We'll see how it feels tomorrow,” Markkanen said, per Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune.
As optimistic as Lauri Markkanen might have been, Jazz head coach Will Hardy, however, prefers to err on the side of caution and low expectations.
“They talked to him during the game and he said he was OK, but when your body cools down and he wakes up tomorrow, it could be a different story,” Hardy said, per Ryan Miller of KSL.com.
According to Sarah Todd of Deseret News, Markkanen has been dealing with a hand injury for a while now. While the injury isn't one that could grow worse with more wear and tear, it's the kind of knock that needs rest to heal fully.
With the Jazz not necessarily too invested in fighting for a playoff spot this year, they could, perhaps, exercise care with the physical status of their star man. The next three games for the Jazz could be very telling — they're scheduled to face the Milwaukee Bucks, Sacramento Kings, and Phoenix Suns in the coming days. If they don't come out on top in those games, they may very well let Markkanen heal.
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